40: Chapter 40 Getting Stronger Is Really Addictive

Return to the Train? This option sounded so tempting, so safe.

The Train had a sturdy shell, food, and drink; there was no need to face disgusting and deadly monsters.

But... then what?

Continue being a couch potato, relying on the handouts of the combat squad, and trading heavy manual labor for just enough food to survive?

Watch helplessly as Fang Che, Jiang Ning, and the others rapidly level up, while I remain stagnant, eventually losing even the qualification to look up at their backs?

That warm current from leveling up just now, that refreshing sensation of power filling every limb and bone, seemed to still linger in my body.

The feeling of getting stronger is addictive.

Having experienced it once, who would still be willing to crawl back into the mud and be a weakling with no power to truss a chicken?

Several girls who originally wanted to retreat looked at each other and saw unwillingness and struggle in each other's eyes.

They silently retreated to the back of the group, their faces still showing fear, but in their eyes, a desire called ambition had ignited.

Their perspective shifted at this very moment.

Fang Che saw all of this and chuckled inwardly.

This was the effect he wanted.

Fear is the best driver, and hope is the sweetest reward.

He did not need a group of burdens who only knew how to scream; what he wanted was an army of women who, even if their legs went weak with fear, dared to charge forward with him.

"Apply this."

Su Qingxue took the first-aid kit, walked over to Jiang Ning, crouched down, and took out disinfecting spray and ointment, carefully treating the charred wound on her thigh.

"Hiss..."

When the medicine touched the rotting flesh, Jiang Ning grimaced in pain, but she stubbornly didn't cry out.

"Thanks, Squad Leader."

She looked at Su Qingxue's focused profile, her tone a bit unnatural.

Back at school, she and a high-and-mighty top student like Su Qingxue would never have crossed paths. Who would have thought that in the apocalypse, they would become comrades-in-arms who could entrust their backs to each other.

"No need."

"You are a main combat force for the team; we will still need you when we reach the boss later."

Jiang Ning curled her lips.

"Like you aren't one too. You were pretty impressive commanding earlier."

Su Qingxue's hand movements stiffened, and her pretty face flushed red for once.

"I was just doing what I was supposed to do."

"Tch, stubborn."

Jiang Ning muttered softly.

On the other side, Teacher Qin Bing also sat down next to Fang Che and handed him a bottle of water.

"You were... too reckless just now."

Teacher Qin Bing looked at him, a trace of lingering fear still in her eyes.

"What if a Critical Hit hadn't triggered?"

Fang Che unscrewed the cap, took a big gulp, and then said slowly.

"There is no 'what if'."

"What?"

"I said, there is no 'what if'."

As long as it triggered, even the lowest double Critical Hit, combined with his current monstrous attributes and Size Manipulation, was enough to instantly kill an LV3 elite monster.

Sixty times—one could only say, the luck was good.

Teacher Qin Bing looked at Fang Che's young yet overly composed face and was momentarily dazed.

The man in front of her was no longer that ordinary student who sat in the back row of the classroom.

The aura of strength, confidence, and control over everything he possessed made her, an older mentor, feel a trace of inexplicable peace of mind and... reliance.

Teacher Qin Bing shook her head to cast away this dangerous thought and lowered her voice to change the subject.

"That purple core, how do you plan to use it?"

She had seen Fang Che quietly tuck away that most special piece of loot.

Fang Che glanced at her, not hiding anything.

"I haven't decided yet. I could use it directly to gamble for a skill, or I could keep it as a material to upgrade equipment."

He paused and added.

"This thing is too eye-catching; it's not suitable for everyone to know about it for now."

Teacher Qin Bing nodded, indicating she understood.

An innocent man is innocent, but possession of a valuable item can lead to trouble. She understood this principle.

Just as the core team members were resting, on the other side of the group, several girls were gathered together, chattering away.

It was Li Wei, who had been punished for stealing meat, and her little clique.

"Did you see that wound on Jiang Ning's leg? It's mangled and bloody; it looks painful as hell."

"What are you afraid of pain for? She's an LV2 big shot now; a little injury like that will be fine after a sleep. What about us?"

One girl said sourly.

"Sigh, if we had known, we should have charged too. Even shooting a few arrows from the back would have given us more experience than now."

"Do you dare? When those vines flew over just now, my legs went soft with fear."

Li Wei bit her lip hard, her fingernails nearly digging into her flesh.

Jealousy was driving her crazy!

Why?

We are all classmates, so why is their leveling speed so fast, while I have to work like a beast of burden?

She had broken down.

Her gaze was fixed on Fang Che, who was surrounded by the strongest women, Teacher Qin Bing, Su Qingxue, and Jiang Ning, not far away.

A thought uncontrollably popped up.

Combat... she would never catch up to them in this lifetime.

But what if... she switched tracks?

Li Wei's eyes slowly changed their expression.

Meanwhile, in another corner, a secret meeting between best friends was also taking place.

"Sister Ning, have you really thought this through?"

Chen Keke tugged at Jiang Ning's sleeve, her cute baby face full of nervousness.

Beside her, the hot-bodied Xu Zhaozhao was also crossing her arms, waiting for her final decision.

Jiang Ning glanced at her still-bleeding wound, then at Fang Che, who was surrounded by everyone like the moon among stars, her eyes incomparably firm.

"I've thought it through."

She said in a low voice.

"This world is no longer the world it used to be."

"To hell with reasoning; might is the only truth."

She looked at her two best friends.

"In combat, you two aren't up to it. Doing manual labor will only get you enough to survive."

Jiang Ning took a deep breath and made a certain resolution.

"But we have other assets."

This remark made Chen Keke's face flush to the roots of her ears, while Xu Zhaozhao's eyes lit up.

"Fang Che is not a fool; if we take the initiative, he won't treat us badly."

Jiang Ning continued.

"This isn't just for ourselves, but even more so for the three of us to gain a firm foothold in this team!"

"Instead of waiting to be beaten to it by others later, or being treated as bargaining chips by Fang Che, we might as well take the initiative and hold him in our own hands!"

Xu Zhaozhao nodded immediately, the corner of her mouth curling up.

"I agree. It's going to happen sooner or later anyway, might as well find the strongest one; we won't lose out."

Only Chen Keke was still looking down, wringing her fingers, looking conflicted.

"But... but the three of us together... this is just too..."

Jiang Ning pulled her into an embrace by the shoulder, her tone uncharacteristically gentle.

"Keke, I know you're shy. But now is not the time. The three of us together is safer, and we'll have each other for company."

"Trust me, and trust Fang Che. We are going to invest, not to give ourselves away for free!"

After speaking, she stood up and looked at Fang Che with burning eyes.

The ten minutes of rest time passed in a flash.

Fang Che stood up and brushed the dust off his body.

"Time is up, let's go."